	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>1 Nephi 11:32 - 11:33</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying:
				Look!
				And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.
			</p>
			<p>
				And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		One of the main themes of the Abrahamic religions is that we&apos;re all flawed, and for us to be saved, someone had to pay the price.
		A just and fair god would not punish one person for the crimes of another.
		Jehovah is not a just god.
		If we deserve forgiveness, a just god could forgive us without someone else taking the blame for us.
		If we don&apos;t deserve forgiveness, someone taking on our punishments shouldn&apos;t make us magically forgiveable.
		The proper thing to do would be to make us pay for our own crimes, then once we&apos;ve made amends, forgive us.
		This whole messiah thing is just a way for people to make themselves feel good because they think they&apos;re getting out of what they think they deserve.
		To someone with a real conscience though, the thought of having someone else take on your punishment for you is utterly appalling.
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 26:24</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		We&apos;re also told that Jehovah does everything out of love for the world, but what definition of love involves cursing people?
		What form of love involves cutting people off from your presence eternally?
		What form of love involves writing terrible rules that no one can always follow, then punishing them for it?
		And how is sacrificing yourself to yourself to bypass rules you chose yourself to implement supposed to be an act of love?
	</p>
	<p>
		I talked to the missionaries about this, and they claim Jesus need not have dies on the cross to save us.
		It was his atonement in a garden that saved us.
		The missionaries say though that Jesus was only killed to fulfil the law of Moses, which is basically an eye for an eye.
		But even then, they say it was only because the humans wanted that.
		If they&apos;d been reasonable people, Jesus wouldn&apos;t&apos;ve needed to die.
		They just wanted to kill him and he put up with that.
		Additionally, putting up with that while still remaining spiritual, even while all his rights were being trampled on, including his right to life, was supposed to serve as an example for us.
		We should remain spiritual even in the face of severe pain and death.
		Of course, this doesn&apos;t fix the fact that if you deserve forgiveness, you deserve it even if no one atones on your behalf, and that if you don&apos;t deserve forgiveness, you don&apos;t deserve it even if someone <strong>*does*</strong> atone on your behalf.
		The atonement of Jesus still doesn&apos;t make sense as a way for anyone to get to heaven besides Jesus himself getting in.
	</p>
